Interactive financial card system uniquely suited for conducting financial transactions on the internet

Abstract

A system and method for conducting secured online financial transactions on the Internet provides an electronically readable e-commerce card issued by a financial institution, as well as an electronic card reading device that communicates with the card owner's computer. To enable an online financial transaction on the Internet, the e-commerce card must first be read by the electronic card reading device. Next, the card owner is required to input a security code, and possibly other personal security information, that is known only by the user to the exclusion of others, including the card issuer. This system and method effectively decentralizes the personal security codes and other security information of all e-commerce card owners using the system, thereby substantially reducing the likelihood and extent of fraud and theft stemming from the traditional financial card (e.g., credit card and debit card) system without altering the framework of the existing global Internet marketplace and it's supporting e-commerce networks and systems.

1. A system for conducting online financial transactions on a global computer network, said system comprising:
 a financial card issued by a financial institution to an authorized card owner, said financial card having electronically readable data specific to the particular authorized card owner electronically stored thereon, and said financial card having no visible card owner information thereon, including no visible card owner name, no visbile account number and no visible expiration date; 
 an electronic card reading device for conducting financial transactions, and said electronic card reading device communicating with the card owner's computer, and said financial card reading device being structured and disposed for reading the electronically readable data stored on the financial card, and said electronic reading device being further structured and disposed for transmitting the electronically readable data to the card owner's computer; and 
 a software program for installation on the card owner's computer and being structured and disposed for comprehending said electronically readable data read from said financial card, said software program being further structured and disposed for storing a card owner selected security code exclusively on the card owner's computer, to thereby establish a plurality of decentralized databases of card owner security codes throughout the system, wherein each card owner's security code is stored only on their computer, said software program being further structured and disposed for prompting the card owner to enter the card owner security code prior to making a financial transaction on the global computer network, said software program being further structured and disposed for comparing the entered card owner security code with the stored card owner selected security code and for communicating with said financial institution to enable the financial transaction upon determining that the entered card owner security code matches the stored card owner selected security code stored on the card owner's computer, and said software program being further structured and disposed for prompting the card owner to change the card owner selected security code after making the financial transaction. 
 
     
     
       2. The system as recited in  claim 1  wherein said financial card is a compact disc (CD).